Dems Damn the Rules

Dems Damn the Rules

"The American people called for greater civility in
how Congress conducts its work, and Democrats pledge to conduct our
work with civility and bipartisanship, and to act in partnership -
not partisanship - with the president and Republicans in
Congress."

- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Nov. 14, 2006

"We must turn the page on partisanship and usher in a new era of
bipartisan progress."

- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Jan. 4, 2007

Pelosi and Reid opened this Congress pledging a new openness and
a respect for the rights of the minority party. Fifteen months
later, their actions tell a far different story. The Colombia Free
Trade Agreement and Sen. Reid's breaking of his word on a
public-lands bill are the most recent evidence that a
bait-and-switch is at work here.

Pelosi has stated that she will change House rules to circumvent
the 90-day timetable for taking up the Colombia Free Trade
Agreement that President Bush just submitted to Congress.

The Colombia accord was negotiated under a fast-track law that
has since expired - but which clearly, specifically covered votes
on the agreement.

The expired law forbids amendments to trade pacts and requires
that both the House and Senate act on the agreement within three
months after the president submits the pact to Congress.

Their own rules and procedures are the constitutional domain of
the two houses of Congress, yet the spirit of the fast-track
agreement - to date, never violated - is that the House and Senate
would have an up-or-down vote on trade deals within the timeframe
set forth by the statute.

But Pelosi says she will ask the House Rules Committee to remove
the fast-track timeline for the Colombia accord and push a vote to
later this year.

Understandably, this doesn't sit well with House Minority Leader
John Boehner. "Any vote to delay the consideration of the Colombia
Free Trade Agreement would violate the spirit of the law and
undermine our ability to create more American jobs," he said, "Let
me be clearer: It would be cheating."

The US-Colombia deal is important because it would open
Colombia's market to American services, consumer products and
agricultural exports. The agreement would further strengthen US
intellectual-property rights and investments.

And it would also strengthen Colombia as an ally against the
Marxist forces in Venezuela that are trying to destabilize South
American democracies that have good relations (trade and otherwise)
with the United States.

Reid, meanwhile, recently backed out of a unanimous-consent
agreement to bring up a public-lands package passed by the Senate
Energy Committee. His problem: The agreement also contained an
amendment to apply state gun laws to the possession of firearms in
national parks - so that voting on the overall bill could have
posed political problems for anti-gun Democrats. He introduced a
new lands package to avoid putting any of his members in that
bind.

The Senate conducts much of its business by unanimous-consent
agreements, and any violation of the letter and spirit of these
agreements leads to a trampling of the rights of the minority
party.

Republicans were guilty of some similar infractions when they
ran Congress, but these recent actions are new nadirs - gross
violations of comity in the House and Senate. No wonder Congress'
approval ratings are at record lows.

Brian Darling is director of US Senate relations and
congressional analyst at The Heritage Foundation
(heritage.org).